John George Brown

John George Brown, born into a poor family in Durham, England, became one of 19th-century America’s most skilled painters of children, particularly cheerful street urchins working as boot blacks, newspaper vendors, and more. Known as the “Boot Black Raphael” for his glowing depictions of child figures, his emotionally evocative paintings were highly popular during the industrial Victorian era, making him wealthy through both sales and royalties from lithographs.

Brown showed early artistic talent but was initially discouraged by his lawyer father and apprenticed as a glass cutter. After moving to London, he emigrated to Brooklyn at 22, working at the Flint Glass Works while studying under miniaturist Thomas Cummings. Brown later attended the National Academy of Design and became a respected artist and teacher. Although famous for his portraits and juvenile figures, he also painted landscapes in the style of Bierstadt and Whittredge, exhibiting at venues such as the California State Fair in 1881 and 1884.